Rockaway Beach Rail Line Survey

Photo courtesy Phil Goldfeder. Local residents are going to get a say in the potential redevelopment of the abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch line.

Or at least that is the intention of new surveys being conducted by the Queens College Office of Community Studies.

The surveys are part of an overall effort to develop objective research that will provide a more complete understanding of the various options for the Rockaway Beach Branch line in relation to community needs.

Each survey is being sent out at random, and will be hand-delivered to 5,000 residents and 1,000 businesses along the path of the abandoned rail line, as well as in Howard Beach and the Rockaways. They will contain questions relating to which particular option residents and businesses support, and what impact they believe the potential projects would have on nearby neighborhoods.

Among some of the alternatives listed in the surveys are reactivating the train or turning it into a park like the High Line.

The questionnaires are in English and Spanish.

Respondents can submit the completed surveys using self-addressed, postage-paid envelopes or by going online to a web address printed on their questionnaire.

Respondents are asked to respond on or before July 18. Only those who receive a printed, numbered questionnaire can respond.

The surveys are given at random to represent a sampling of community members. The survey’s respondents are kept anonymous and it takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary.

After the information is collected, it will be made available to community members, media and elected officials.

The researchers are hoping the findings will offer insight to how the community feels about each redevelopment option and their understanding of each possibility.

Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder played a big role in getting

Queens College to perform a study on the Rockaway

Beach Branch Line. “While some groups are assessing the feasibility of the rail line using tax dollars and expensive consultants that will only result in one-sided studies, we are utilizing local expert resources and educating our students, all while supporting an objective study that will enormously benefit every Queens family,” Goldfeder said.

The Rockaway Beach Line, also known as the White Pot Junction Line, was operated by the Long Island Rail Road and reduced commutes from Rockaway to Manhattan to 40 minutes.

Goldfeder has pushed for the rail line to be brought back since he was elected. He urged Governor Cuomo to restore the line in February 2012 and started a petition later that year which garnered 3,000 signatures in support of the action.

This railway line is classified as "Inactive" NOT "abandoned". I see no reason why congress can't get a federal emergency rail act going ? ? ? They did it for "CON-RAIL" with no problem. This is NEEDED, The impossible task is getting it through Forest Hills who is OPPOSED to it and wants to make it into a park quickly so this can't happen ( because, there's only 2 GIANT parks in F.H., this is not enough for them). N.I.M.B.Y ! While they enjoy an express link of their own to Manhattan in 15 mins Rockaway Suffers. Put some mental Institutions and NYCHA in Forest Hills and see what happens, they'll run their elected officials off a pier.

Hey Ho, Let's Go......between this new line and the ferry I believe it would make life easier for Rockaway residents, especially those who don't want to pay for gas and parking by driving into the city, or to other areas of Queens, Brooklyn, etc.
I say "Yeah"!!!